USA > Wisconsin > Walworth County > History of Walworth county, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 73
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Mr. Thorpe was born on November 13, 1873. in Darien, Walworth county, Wisconsin, and is the son of Martin and Catherine ( Sullivan ) Thorpe, natives of Ireland. The father grew to manhood in his native country and received his education there, emigrating to the United States when about twenty-five years of age, first settling in the state of New York, where he engaged in farming for about two years, then came to Wisconsin and settled in Darien township, where he engaged in farming until his death, in 1009, having been very successful as a general farmer and established a good home through his industry. His wife preceded him to the grave in 1907.
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Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin Thorpe, namely : John, who is farming in Darien township; Eugene is conducting a meat market in the town of Darien; Mrs. Charles Farrister lives in Delavan township, this county ; James J., of this sketch; Martin is engaged in the hardware business in Darien.
James J. Thorpe was reared on the home farm in Darien township where, when of proper age, he made himself useful during the summer months, and in the winter time attended the public schools of the town of Darien. On November 8, 1899, he was united in marriage with Nellie Flaherty, daughter of John and Calisty Flaherty, a highly respected family of Walworth county, where Mrs. Thorpe grew to womanhood and was educated. To the subject and wife two children have been born, namely: John, born November 26, 1900, and Emily, born October 16, 1906.
Mr. Thorpe has long maintained a livery barn in the town of Darien township, has built up a good business, being well equipped with good horses and such vehicles as his needs require, and he has sought always to give prompt and good service to the traveling public. He does a great deal of team- ing.
Public affairs have claimed a great deal of his attention and he has been treasurer of Darien township for the past fourteen years, still incumbent of that office, the duties of which he has discharged in a manner that has re- flected much credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of all concerned. He has also been road commissioner, and he is at present deputy sheriff of his township.
In connection with his livery stable, which he owns, he has been an ex- tensive dealer in horses for a number of years, buying and selling continuously. He is regarded as an excellent judge of a horse, and this part of his business is one of the most remunerative. Politically, he is a Republican, and in reli- gious matters is a Catholic and faithful in his support of the mother church. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen.
PETER KNIEP.
The great task of clearing the land of its timber in early years can scarce- ly be realized by the people of today. Not a crop could be sown nor an orchard tree planted until the large trees had been cut down and removed with fire or with a team of horses. Even then the stumps were a great hindrance and it is doubtful if so much as half a crop could be raised until they had
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been pulled out or burned up. The amount of hard labor required to remove the dense forest growth in Walworth county seems almost incredible. It was a task that seemed never to end, and all members of the family were required to assist early and late and at all seasons of the year. The subject of this sketch, and especially his father before him, had their full share of this work, and they did it well, as may be surmised in looking over the Kniep homestead in Spring Prairie township. They came of a race that never quailed before obstacles and hardships, never swerved aside from tasks, no matter how arduous or dangerous, if they believed it their duty to perform them, so it is no wonder that they succeeded, for such men are those .on whom the sunshine of fortune delights to shine and who are the builders of empires.
Peter Kniep was born in Spring Prairie township, this county, on August I, 1853, and here he has been content to spend his life. He is the son of John and Mary (Meddle) Kniep, both born in Germany, where they spent their childhood and from which country they emigrated to the United States, locating in Spring Prairie township in 1848. He settled on a farm of forty acres, to which he later added until he had eighty-four acres of good land and there spent the balance of his life, dying in 1887 at the age of seventy-one years, his wife having preceded him to the grave in 1877, at the age of sixty- four years. They had a family of three sons and one daughter. Mr. Kniep was a hard worker and a good citizen. Politically, he was a Democrat, and a member of the Catholic church.
Peter Kniep of this sketch was reared on the home farm, where he be- came acquainted with the routine of husbandry when but a boy, and during the winter months he attended the public schools. Early in life he turned his attention to farming and has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser, now owning one of the choice farms of Spring Prairie township. consisting of three hundred and twelve acres, which he has brought up to a high state of improvement and cultivation, making a specialty of dairying. in which he has been very successful, his products finding a very ready market. He has been a close observer and a wide reader of everything that pertains to farming, stock raising and dairying and has kept fully abreast of the times, and it would be hard to find a more careful or scientific all-around agriculturist within the boundaries of Walworth county. He has a commodious and at- tractive residence and substantial outbuildings-everything, in fact, being in "ship-shape" about his place.
Politically, Mr. Kniep is a Democrat and he takes a good citizen's interest . in everything that has for its object the betterment of his township and county. taking an especial interest in educational affairs, having been treasurer of the
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local school board for a period of twenty years. He is a faithful member of the Catholic church.
Mr. Kniep was married on September 20, 1871, to Ida Bushman, who was born in Spring Prairie township, the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Lucum) Bushman, a complete sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Kniep was reared and educated in her home township. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kniep, namely: John Peter, Carrie Annie, Lawrence Frank. Harry Henry and Olive Christina, all living.
JOHN BUSHMAN.
The gentleman whose name heads this review is one of the leading farm- ers in Spring Prairie township, Walworth county, and this volume would be incomplete were there failure to make mention of him, at least, briefly setting forth the leading facts of his busy career. Tireless energy and honesty of pur- pose are the chief characteristics of the man. He believes in progress, in adopting the most approved twentieth-century methods in his work and in forwarding all movements looking to the general upbuilding of his com- munity.
John Bushman was born in this township on January 29, 1866. He is the son of Henry and Elizabeth Bushman, both natives of Germany, where they spent their early childhood, emigrating to the United States when young and settling in Walworth county, Wisconsin, when the county was little de- veloped, about 1853. In that year they were married in this county, each having come to the new world single. They worked hard, were economical and here established a good home in due course of time. Five children were born to them, all of whom are living. Henry Bushman became the owner of one hundred and fifty-six acres of good land, and here he farmed and raised stock the rest of his life, dying in 1895, his widow surviving until 1904. dying at Berlington, Wisconsin. Politically, the father was a Democrat and a worthy member of the Catholic church.
John Bushman was reared on the home farm and received his education in the rural schools of his locality, and early in life he turned his attention to farming which has continued to be his life work. He has prospered through close application and good management and at one time owned three hundred and sixteen acres, but some time ago sold thirty acres, now owning two hundred and eighty-six acres, which constitutes one of the choice farms
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in Spring Prairie township, and which he has kept well improved and well cultivated. He keeps a good grade of live stock, and he has a commodious and well furnished home and large, convenient outbuildings.
Mr. Bushman was married in 1898 to Dora Wenker, who was born in Germany in 1881, the daughter of John and Dora Wenker, natives of the fatherland, where they grew up and were married and from which they emi- grated to the United States in 1883, locating in Walworth county, Wisconsin, and here they established a good home through their industry and honesty, and spent the remainder of their lives here, both dying in the town of Burling- ton. To Mr. and Mrs. Bushman has been born one son, John Joseph Frank, whose birth occurred on March 14, 1900.
JOHN CUSACK.
It is a pleasure to any one, whether a farmer or not, to look over a well improved and finely kept landed estate like that of John Cusack, of Darien township, Walworth county, Wisconsin, for he is a man who believes in keep- ing abreast of the times, in adopting, so far as practicable, the most approved twentieth-century methods in general farming and stock raising. As a result of his long years of husbandry here he has about solved the question of scien- tific farming as we know and understand it today. He has always stood for progressiveness, not only in material things, but in political, educational and religious matters, and he has always been an advocate of wholesome living and honesty in public life, and while laboring for his individual advancement he has never been found neglect ful of his duties to his neighbors and the gen- eral public.
Mr. Cusack was born on May 24, 1858, in Darien township, this county, and it has been his pleasure to spend his entire life in his home community. He is the son of Patrick and Ellen ( Sullivan) Cusack, both born in Ireland, where they spent their earliest years, emigrating while single to Canada where they were married, the father coming about 1851 and settled on a farm where he remained until 1857. when he came to Darien township, Walworth county, Wisconsin He worked out until 1870, when he purchased a farm in Darien township, where he established the family home, and developed a good farm on which he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in November, 1906. His wife still lives on the homestead here.
To Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Cusack eight children have been born, named as
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follows: Mary, now Mrs. Moran; John, subject of this sketch; Nellie is de- ceased ; M. E. lives in Darien ; James ; Julia; Frank lives in Darien ; Agnes is deceased.
John Cusack grew up on the homestead in this township and he worked on the same during his boyhood days. He received his education in the dis- trict schools, and early in life he took up general farming for a livelihood, which he has continued to the present time, being now the towner of a fertile farm of one hundred and ninety acres in section 23, Darien township. He keeps good live stock and makes a specialty of dairying, which he thoroughly understands.
Mr. Cusack was married on January 9, 1888, to Katie Long, the daughter of Patrick and Margaret Long, natives of Ireland, both now deceased. One child has been born to the subject and wife, James M., whose birth occurred on December 10, 1889.
Politically, Mr. Cusack is a Democrat, and in religious matters he is a member of the Catholic church. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. He has been supervisor of Darien township for five years.
JAMES BROWN, JR.
Some men speak loudest by talking volubly and frequently, while others speak loudest by their actions. It has been said that we should never form our opinions of men on what they say, but only on what they do. Talking, dreaming, planning amount to but little; it is what a man does that counts. James Brown, Jr., farmer of Darien township, Walworth county, is able to express himself clearly and forcefully when it is necessary to talk, and is also well qualified to carry into execution his thoughts, and he is regarded as one of the strong factors in a community where there are many men of sound sense and ripe judgment. He has devoted his life to farming and has met with encouraging success all along the line as a result of his ability to see quickly what was needed and to do the right thing at the right time. He believes in adopting the latest and most approved methods in farming, believing it just as necessary as in any other line of business.
Mr. Brown was born at Johnson Creek, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, on October 4, 1874. He is the son of James and Margaret (Moran) Brown, both natives of Ireland where they spent their earlier years, emigrating to America about 1861 and settling first in New Jersey. The father was a stone
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mason by trade which he followed several years after coming to this country, then engaged in farming the rest of his life. He came to Wisconsin about 1870 and settled at Johnson Creek, Jackson county, where he made his home five or six years, then moved to Darien township, Walworth county, and here he has continued to reside, owning an excellent farm of one hundred and fif- teen acres, in section 24. He made a success as a general farmer and has been living in retirement for the past ten years.
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. James Brown, namely : Will- iam lives in Darien township; Mary, Mrs. Maggie O'Brien; James, Jr., sub- ject of this sketch; Mrs. Nettie Fanning lives at Janesville; Steve is at home ; Frank and Ora are deceased. The wife and mother was called to her rest on December 18, 1909.
James Brown, Jr., grew to manhood on the home farm and there made himself useful in his boyhood days. He received his education in the district schools of Darien township, and he has made farming his life work, he and his brother Stephen now operating the homestead in Darien township, which they are managing successfully, carrying on general farming and stock raising. Politically, he is a Democrat and in religious matters belongs to the Catholic church in Delavan. He has never married.
WILLIAM E. DELONG.
The true measure of individual success is determined by what one has accomplished, and, as taken in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, there is a particular interest at- tached to the review of the subject of this sketch, since he is a native son of Walworth county, where his entire life has been passed, and has so di- rected his ability and efforts to gain recognition as one of the worthy citizens of Darien township. He also belongs to a family whose name is indelibly in- scribed on the pages of his county's history.
William E. DeLong was born on July 7. 1875, in Geneva township, this county. He is the son of William and Eliza ( Lewis) DeLong, both natives of the state of New York where they spent their earlier years, finally coming to Wisconsin in an early day and settling in Jefferson county, near Farming- ton, with their parents, William DeLong coming about 1841. After remain- ing there about seven years he went to Kansas City in about 1863. returning to Wisconsin about 1865 and settled in Geneva township and purchased a
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farm here, which he operated until 1878, when he sold out and moved to Mil- lard, Sugar Creek township, where he resided until 1884, then moved to Woodston county, Kansas, and lived there until his death in 1891. He had devoted his life to farming. His widow survives, now making her home in Darien, this county.
To Mr. and Mrs. William DeLong four children were born, namely : William E., of this review ; Jesse, who is in partnership with our subject in farming in this county; Charles, and Julia, the daughter being now deceased.
The mother of these children married again after the death of her first husband to James Baldwin, who lived in the town of Darien, and to this last union three children were born, namely : Byron and Burton, twins, are now twenty-one years old, and Lester is nineteen.
William E. DeLong, of this sketch, grew to manhood on the home farm and there assisted with the general work during the crop seasons when he be- came of proper age, and in the winter months he attended the public schools at Millard, this county, and in Woodston county, Kansas.
Mr. DeLong was married on February 17, 1896, to Susan Baker, daugh- ter of Jerry and Rodie Baker, a highly respected family of Darien township. Three children have been born to the subject and wife, named as follows : Lillian. born March 21, 1902: William, born June 10, 1907 : and Ethel, born October 27, 1910.
Mr. DeLong has devoted his life to farming and he has managed his affairs so well that large success has attended his efforts all along the line, and he now operates with his brother Jesse, also an excellent farmer, two hun- dred and forty acres in section 29, Darien township. They keep the place un- der a high state of improvement and cultivation and in connection with gen- eral farming handle a good grade of live stock.
WILLIAM J. DAWLEY.
It will always be a mark of distinction to have served in the Federal army during the great Civil war between the states. The old soldier will receive at- tention no matter where he goes if he will but make himself known, particu- larly if he puts on his old faded uniform. And when he passes away, which the last of them must do within a few years, most of them having already lived out their allotted three score and ten, according to the Psalmist, friends will pay him suitable eulogy for the sacrifices he made fifty years ago on the
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field or in the no less dreaded prison or hospital. And ever afterward his de- scendants will revere his memory and take pride in recounting his services for his country in the hour of peril.
One of the old soldiers who went forth to fight to save the union of states is William J. Dawley, retired farmer. Mr. Dawley was born on November 25. 1844, in the state of New York. He is the son of Clark and Harriet Daw- ley, both natives of New York state, where they grew up and were married, and from there they emigrated to Wisconsin in 1847, first locating in White- water, in which vicinity Mr. Dawley purchased a farm, but remained there only a few years, then sold out and moved his family to Hebron, this state, and bought a farm near there, which he operated with his usual success for a period of nine years, then sold out and moved to Iowa, where he bought an- other farm, remaining there about thirty years, becoming well established in the meantime ; he then moved back to Whitewater, Wisconsin, where he con- tinued to reside until his death.
To Mr. and Mrs. Clark Dawley two children were born, namely : William J., of this sketch, and Mrs. Jane Millis.
William J. Dawley grew up on the home farm where he assisted with the general work when a boy during the summer months, attending the common schools in the winter time. When the Civil war came on Mr. Dawley proved his patriotism by enlisting on August 15, 1862, in Company D, Twenty-eighth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, in which he served very faithfully for a period of three years, taking part in many important campaigns and battles. He was mustered out on August 22, 1865, at Washington, D. C. After the war he returned to his Wisconsin home and has lived most of his life in this state, and after a successful business career is now living retired with his son, Ver- non, at their cozy home, No. 137 South Fourth street, Delavan.
Soon after the war Mr. Dawley was married to Mrs. Sarah ( Warren ) Dawley, widow of Gideon Dawley, deceased. Her first husband was a cousin of William J. Dawley of this review. They went to Iowa not long after- wards and there Mr. Dawley became the owner of a large farm, where he established a good home and remained about twenty years, then came back to Whitewater, Wisconsin, where his wife died in 1897. Mr. Dawley remained in Whitewater till March, 1911, then after one year in Delavan with his son Vernon, went to live with his son Arthur, at Waterloo, Iowa.
To Mr. and Mrs. Dawley four children have been born, namely : George, Harriett, Vernon and Arthur. These children were given every educational advantage and they are very well situated in reference to this world's affairs.
Mr. Dawley has always been a public-spirited man and assisted in for-
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warding such measures as make for the upbuilding of the communities in which he has resided.
George Dawley, born March 6, 1869, married Jessie Hawley. He is a brick mason at Mason City, Iowa, and has several children. Harriett is the wife of H. J. Cadman, a plumber of Whitewater, Wisconsin. She had two children. Her daughter Pearl died. The other daughter is Mabel. Vernon was born May 18, 1877. married Louise Sell and has one little daughter, Mary Marie Dawley. He has lived in Delavan for the past four years. Arthur was born March 28, 1879. He is married and lives at Waterloo, Iowa.
EDWARD EVERETT AYER.
It is one of the principle functions of this publication to accord recogni- tion to those representative business men who have aided in the advancement of Walworth county to a position of eminence in the great commonwealth of Wisconsin. Based upon such premises, there is definite propriety in accord- ing consideration to the progressive business and public-spirited citizen whose name heads this review. History is made rapidly in these latter days, repre- senting ceaseless toil and endeavor, the proudest achievements and the most potent progress in all lines, and thus it is gratifying to mark the records of those whose influence has impressed itself along the various channels through which the swelling tide of accomplishment makes its way. As a man of twen- tieth-century industry. Mr. Ayer is well worthy of representation in a work of this nature, as a representative of that class of alert, far-seeing men of affairs who are giving an enduring character to the industrial and civic makeup of Lake Geneva and vicinity. He has shown both the power of initiative and that of concentration, and has made for himself a secure place as one of the leaders of his day and generation in this section of the country.
Edward Everett Ayer, of Walworth county and Chicago, is the scion of an excellent old family, and he was born on November 16, 1841, at Southport (now Kenosha), Wisconsin, and he is the son of Elbridge Gerry Ayer and Mary (Titcomb) Ayer.
Elbridge G. Aver belonged to the numerous family of Avers in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he was born in 1813. Mary Titcomb was from Deadham, Massachusetts, where she was born in the same year as Mr. Ayer. They were married in 1835. and early the next spring. 1836, started for Southport, Wis- consin, where they arrived in July of that year. Their oldest child, Mrs Mary
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Smith, was born November 25, 1836, being the first white child born in what is now Kenosha, Racine county. She was followed during the next ten years by Anna, now Mrs. Abner Burbank, of Harvard, Illinois; Edward Everett, of this sketch ; Mrs. Henry Minier, now of Harvard, Illinois, and Henry C. Ayer, also of Harvard, Illinois. In 1847 the father of these children moved to the state line and went into partnership in the mercantile business with a Mr. Dunn. Within the next three or four years two more children were born, Mrs. Harriet Towne, of Harvard, Illinois, and Mrs. Arthur Law, of Tacoma, Washington. In 1853 the father sold out his mercantile interests here to Charles Hunt, father of Charles Hunt, Jr., now of Harvard, Illinois, and took a railroad grading contract between Clinton Junction and Shopiere, on the Wisconsin division of the Northwestern railroad, and he did an excellent job of grading, but was never paid for it, and so lost a large part of his fortune at that time.
In 1856, Elbridge G. Ayer, with others, bought the farm where Harvard, Illinois, is now and located there, and he was always one of its leading citizens. Being within five miles of the state line, the family kept in touch with condi- tions in Wisconsin. He and his wife kept an eating house there during the Civil war, and they were very kind to the soldiers who came down from Wis- consin and Minnesota, having fed from twenty to two hundred soldiers every day during the war, free of charge, never, in fact, during the war having charged a soldier a cent for a meal. That this was thoroughly appreciated, was indicated by Mr. Ayer receiving a beautiful letter from Governor Lewis at the close of the war, especially thanking him for his courtesy to the sick and wounded, and twenty odd years afterwards, when Mr. Ayer and wife cele- brated their golden wedding, the Wisconsin soldiers, who remembered the courtesies extended them by this grand old couple, contributed twenty-five cents apiece, and a committee of twenty-one of the Grand Army of the Republic came to Harvard and presented a gold cup to them, which descended to their son, Edward E., of this sketch, who placed it in the Wisconsin Historical Society at Madison, perpetually.
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